The second quilt I had in our school auction was really quite awesome, I must say. Has a good idea ever hit you when you take a break and finally relax? Well, less than four hours into my spring break this year, I got an idea I was so excited about I wished I could actually get back to school and get started on it!
I have a lot of fabric scraps leftover from the time when I used to quilt a lot (and I quilted even more obsessively than I knit now!). I was looking for a way to use them up. I took some Steam-a-Seam fusible webbing, and I ironed the scraps onto one side of the sheet of fusible webbing, leaving the paper attached to the back side.
At school, my co-teachers and I cut the sheets of scraps up so they were individual pieces of fabric. We then handed the children 6 inch squares of muslin and told them to cut out shapes from the fabric however they liked to decorate the square. They cut out shapes, pulled the paper off the back of the fusible webbing, and then we permanently ironed all of the pieces down.
The children really took to this project. The medium was simple enough to understand, but there was so much room for creativity. Even the older boys (who I was worried about because they can be quite macho) really enjoyed the project and made some really creative contributions. After a very busy couple of weeks, with all but one child participating, and with many children making several squares, we had enough blocks for a 54" x 66" quilt. They were so proud of it, and I'm so happy with the result!
The quilt ended up going for $320 at the auction. The other one went for $155. Yay for quilts!
It's a beautiful and wonderful project. Really creative!
Posted by: Oiyi | April 28, 2009 at 10:29 PM
ZOMG this is amazing!!! So beautiful!
Posted by: Liz K | April 29, 2009 at 08:32 AM
WOW That is one amazing quilt!!!
You should be very proud! I think i'd want to keep it after all that though :)
Posted by: Kelly | April 29, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Well done! What a great project for both kids and teachers to all contribute to. You have found your calling in teaching and crafting. I'm so glad they did so well at auction! Both quilts deserved to. Pretty awesome.
Posted by: Brenda | April 30, 2009 at 12:30 AM
What a wonderful project for your students. You are a brilliant teacher! It turned out so beautiful! Love it!
Posted by: Kim | April 30, 2009 at 10:51 AM
This is such a wonderful project! I'm so glad it did so well at the auction.
Posted by: tiennie | May 01, 2009 at 02:15 AM
Hi. I know this project it several years old, I am hoping it is still an active link. Did you do anything else to affix the fabric patches down, or just rely on the Steam-a-Seam? I would love to do something like this for my son's class, but I am concerned that the fusible adhesive won't hold up for the long term.
Posted by: Tara I. | November 15, 2011 at 09:53 AM